A/N - Thanks to Italian Doll for the beta once again! :)
"Amanda just came into my office; I have to go." Olivia smiled into the phone, holding a finger up to the detective to let her know she'd be another moment. "Sounds good... Okay... Love you." She disconnected the call and tucked her cell into her pocket. "Hey, Amanda. What's up?"
"Hot off the presses." She handed her the file she'd been waiting for. "Everything okay with Noah?"
Olivia was already digging in, looking for specific information in the reports. "Huh?"
"Is he home sick?"
"No, he's fine."
"Oh. No school today?"
"No, he's at school. Why do you ask?"
"It's just - " Amanda glanced at her watch. "- it's only noon. I figured if he was calling you in the middle of a school day, he must be out sick or something."
"Oh, that wasn't Noah. It was Barba," Olivia told her absently. "Where's the tox screen results? There, got them."
Olivia was fully immersed now, and fully unaware that Amanda had been struck dumb.
It was nearing the end of five weeks into Barba's six week work term, and they'd gotten into the habit of phoning one another around midday in New York, which was the start of Barba's work day in Washington. The time difference meant that they rarely had the opportunity for any significant discourse during the work week, but these little check-ins served as a connection point, a bright spot in the day, something to look forward to. Only when they both happened to be available, of course.
(Neither admitted to the other the lengths they went to in order to make sure they were available for these calls, at least not until much later after his return during a particularly tender, teasing moment.)
Saying "I love you" had previously been reserved for heavier moments between them, and certainly not a part of their regular routine. But whenever Olivia was home for Noah's bedtime Skype or call, Barba would always sign off by saying "love you guys" and they would both answer "love you too". It was a habit that had occasionally and offhandedly migrated into their morning conversations as well, despite Noah's absence. An expression of affection, of friendship, and certainly not of whatever assumption had put the huge grin on Amanda's face.
It took Olivia some time to notice it. "What?"
"I just... I had no idea."
Completely oblivious, not at all aware of what she'd said let alone how her words could have been misconstrued, Olivia was about to ask for clarification before all hell broke loose and it was forgotten.
Well, forgotten by Olivia. Amanda, not so much.
Olivia didn't make it home for the evening call that day, but it happened anyway under Lucy's supervision. Barba's responsibilities gave him a little more leeway than hers, so unless an alternative had been worked out ahead of time, every day at 4:30 - 7:30 p.m. in New York - he excused himself from whatever he might be involved in and found a quiet corner - in an office building, at the courthouse, at a restaurant, pulling off to the side of the road if need be - so he could call or Skype Noah and they could read the next chapter of their book.
Barba had intended for this ritual to be private, having no desire to make a spectacle of himself with his new albeit temporary coworkers. But he had been caught redhanded by the King County DA himself part way through week three when the man had let himself into Barba's workspace mid-Skype and had led to him being introduced to Noah and Olivia.
The encounter had precipitated a discussion between the two men about Barba's future with them in Washington and the more long-term job offer that was in the works. It was earlier than the DA had intended to broach the subject, hoping that the more time Barba spent with them the more likely he might be to consider it. But the DA had been previously under the impression that Barba was unattached; if he had a kid at home, a partner, that could make a move a much harder sell. By the end of their talk, Barba had made it clear that he was flattered, but uninterested, at least for now. His home was New York, and most certainly his heart was there.
To his credit, the DA never brought it up again, and never made Barba feel less welcomed after his polite refusal. And though it didn't seem that way for the first embarrassing day, it also ended up being to the DA's credit (and Barba's benefit) that he had not felt compelled to be as closed-lipped about what he'd walked in on. Being outted as someone who took the time to read to a kid that wasn't even his didn't make Barba lose his coworkers' respect, but it humanized him, made him more relatable. And suddenly the same people who had been largely professional and deferential in their dealings with him - understandable due to his reputation and presentation - felt freed up to make things personal, to get to know him and be known by him.
After that there was no reason to hide his daily connections with home, and a few times Barba had even recruited some "special guests" to join in. The assistant he shared with one of the ADA's did great voices. The social worker for three of the young girls he was coaching as witnesses had participated a few times, trading off paragraphs while the girls themselves held Eddie the Elephant on their laps. The DA had even pinch hit when he'd interrupted Barba mid-call with something time sensitive; while Barba had been apologizing to Noah about having to sign off early, the DA had offered to take over his phone and the book, and Olivia had revealed later the man had done a great job endearing himself to Noah.
There was also no reason to completely bottle up the fact that while he was putting on a good show of having it all together, while his work was not suffering, he had been suffering being away. The first night he'd been invited out for drinks and plied with scotch in exchange for the scoop on his personal life, it had served as a release for him to even speak Olivia's name, to admit his feelings in even the broadest terms.
The story of Noah sending his favourite stuffed animal with Barba, and his confession that he did often sneak him around in his briefcase in case the opportunity for a good picture to send home arose, had led to one of his slightly tipsy coworkers insisting that they set up a private Instagram for Eddie the Elephant and help him populate it for Noah's enjoyment (and their own).
Eddie had a full and rich experience after that, as a trio of Barba's friends - yes, he had friends now - made it their mission to tag him in at least a few pictures a day. The kids involved in the case all came to know about Eddie and would look for him and greet him by name wherever he happened to be stationed - in Barba's office, in reception, or somewhere more "creative." Many started asking to hold him during their interviews.
There were no pictures of that, of course, as the identity of the children had to be protected. But while Noah was delighted by Eddie's Instagram feed, while he got excited every time a notification came up on Lucy or Olivia's phone about a new image or comment, while he had learned to recognize and could name a good number of the people Barba interacted with each day from their selfies, it was Eddie being used to comfort the kids that made him the happiest.
He didn't know the details, had only been told that something bad had happened to them and Barba was trying to help them. Both Barba and Olivia had separately wondered if Noah might harbour some jealousy that Barba was away from him and spending time with other children. But it turned out Noah was proud of that fact, talked about it at school and with Lucy often, and maintained that - through lending his favourite stuffed animal - he was helping too.
Eddie wasn't the only one enjoying a rich and full experience. Barba's evenings and weekends became a lot less lonely as he was invited not just for drinks but into people's homes, sharing meals with partners and families. He started to explore Seattle and was never wanting for tour guides. And while he still tended to keep his most personal thoughts and feelings private, those he grew closest to became very entertained by and even invested in Barba's relationship with Olivia, and his hopes and fears about what might happen when he returned home.
Because he would be returning home. For as much as he was enjoying the work environment, the developing camaraderie, for as much as he had to admit that if things were different he would probably really like it there if he stayed, there was no part of him that was even tempted.
The day that Amanda had walked in on Olivia's conversation with Barba had turned into quite a difficult one for the squad, and Barba had been surprised to receive another call nearly 12 hours later, close to midnight in New York.
Olivia was exhausted, raw and unfiltered as she described not only the events of the day but her feelings about them. It took everything in him to not put her on speakerphone so he could start looking for plane tickets. But by the time Olivia had talked herself out, she'd deemed the opportunity to process aloud cathartic and comforting, and Barba believed her and stopped making plans.
Her "I love you" to close the conversation that night had not been offhanded or automatic. And even if she hadn't prefaced it with less distilled expressions of "thank you" and "I'm so glad we're friends" and "I miss you" he would have known what she was trying to say.
His "I love you" was unadorned by other words but meant the same, and more. One more week. She'd know the rest soon enough.